PIAA GIRLS' BB: Tickets for Tri-Valley game a hot item

HEGINS - Early Thursday morning before the homeroom bell sounded, a line of students stretched through the door of Tri-Valley's main office and down the hallway.

Kids weren't waiting to see the principal for detention.

Those in line were patiently waiting to purchase the hottest ticket in town.

No, not the highly anticipated Legends of the Summer concert tour featuring Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake.

Instead, the high school office has turned into Ticketmaster headquarters for Saturday's noon tip-off for the PIAA Class A girls' basketball state final between Tri-Valley and Vincentian Academy.

It took just a little over three

hours for Tri-Valley to sell its initial allotment of 700 tickets Wednesday. Sales continued to soar Thursday as students and community members gobbled them up.

Secretaries Jody Mack, Karen Wasilus and Emily Mattern have added ticket broker to their list of duties this week.

"It is standing room only in the office," Mack said after school.

Head coach and athletic director Bob Felty Jr. picked up 400 more tickets Wednesday afternoon, then returned to the Giant Center box office to pick up another 380. Grand total, nearly 1,200 tickets sold already at a school with about 400 students in grades 7-12.

In addition to students and community members stopping by the school to purchase tickets, the phones have been ringing off the hook to check if any remain.

"Phones aren't ringing for anything other than tickets," Wasilus said.

Sales continued Thursday with about 10 left from the second batch by 1 p.m. Tickets remain available from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. today in the main office. Advance tickets are $4 for students and $8 for adults. All tickets are $8 at the gate.

"It's very exciting to see the support the community is giving to the girls," Mack said.

Larry Morgan is one of those community members and also happens to work at the school as a custodian. He was born in Pitman and grew up in the Hegins Valley. Morgan picked up four tickets - one for himself, a co-worker, the co-worker's son and his daughter.

Prior to working at the high school, Morgan worked at the elementary school. He fondly remembers watching current seniors Juli Weber, Taylor Troutman, Tara Nahodil and Chelsea Stutzman roaming the halls and playing basketball then.

Morgan expressed his pride in the community and the support it has shown for the Dawgs, especially with the ticket sales.

"Just shows the support that the community has," Morgan said. "To get to this point, which we never got to before, and just showing that we are behind the girls. The whole community is behind the team, the coaches. We are just one big, happy family."

The sales not only brought out residents of the Tri-Valley School District.

Fred Schenck of Minersville made the short trip to Hegins around 1:30 p.m. Thursday to purchase his tickets for Saturday's final.

Wearing a blue Battlin' Miners hat, Schenck said he's going because he just enjoys watching good teams play.

"When I first saw them at the beginning of the year, I thought they'd be a contender and they are," Schenck said.

"The only bad thing is they beat Minersville twice," he added with a smile.

Schenck also travelled to East Pennsboro for Tuesday's semifinal and said he thought he'd be turned away at the door because of the large crowd. He was taking no chances for Saturday.

Rest assured, even if no one buys tickets at the gate, the Tri-Valley faithful will be out in full force cheering on their Dawgs.

"I just think that this is a dynasty and a destiny," Morgan said. "I'm hoping and praying that they become state champions. I know they will. I don't even want to go on the negative side."

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